President Ma Ying-jeou says Taiwan intends to play a more active role in regional peace. He made the remarks on Monday at an international conference on regional peace and trans-border crimes.
President Ma said he has proposed Peace Initiatives for the East China Sea and the South China Sea. The goal is to replace confrontation with dialogue, in the hopes of jointly exploring and developing the resources in the region. Ma said that years of hard work has born results, with Taiwan signing a fisheries agreement with Japan and a judicial assistance agreement with the Philippines.
He also spoke about the role Taiwan would like to play in promoting regional peace.
“There’s much more we would like to do, and Taiwan intends to play a more active role with the East China Sea to the North and South China Sea to the south," said Ma, "Taiwan occupies a key geostrategic position. That makes Taiwan a key factor, essential to regional peace.”
Ma also spoke about an agreement signed in 2009, called the Cross-strait Joint Fight against Crime and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement. He said it had helped crack down on crimes like telephone fraud, leaving criminals with nowhere to run. Ma said the success rate for cases benefiting from the agreement was 80%.
The President said he used an innovative way of thinking to deal with cross-strait relations and foreign diplomacy. He said the reconciliation between China and Taiwan has won support from the international community, and has set a positive example for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.